Wassail song (Hampton Fields)

The hamlet of Hampton Fields, near Minchinhampton, had its own wassail song and custom. Richard Chidlaw was told by Billy Cox of Avening on 3 October 1973 that the wassailers carried a bowl with long ribbons and a fox’s tail. When they took the bowl into the pub, they had to pull back the ribbons to put drink into the bowl. There is no archive recording of Billy, but Richard Chidlaw noted the tune and some verses.